Woohoo sounds like your cat is doing much better. Having a bowel movement everyday day is great. I am happy you are getting this under control. And it is good to know that if he starts to go less frequent that you can up the dose to see if it helps!

I bought a huge bottle of lactulose over the counter at "The Real Canadian Superstore" here in Winnipeg. Saved myself tons of money. If you do not have this store, try calling around to other pharmacy's and asking them if they have Lactulose over the counter. Good Luck!

Lexus had went for a enema Monday. Got some PEG (Miralax) from the holistic vet on Tuesday night. I was getting worried because by Friday she did not have a bowel movement. The vet said if she didn't have one over night on Friday then I would have to put her on Cisapride. I woke up Saturday with no "presents" in the litter box. I started making her food and she ran downstairs to go to the litterbox. I went downstairs thinking I was only going to find urine in the box but to my surprise she passed some stool - yay! Since then she had a very soft unformed stool both Saturday night and Sunday morning. So, I have started to cut back on the Miralax from 1/4tsp 3x a day to 1/4tsp 2x a day. I will continue to cut back on the Miralax depending on her stool consistency. I also broke down on Thursday and started to feed her canned food with water (I feed her a raw diet). I want the added moisture to help keep her regular. My ultimate goal is to get her back on half raw and half canned because she does love her raw food. I was also giving her an ice cube portion of liver twice a day to help with her constipation. I will cut back to one ice cube once a day as well. And maybe even less once she starts getting on a regular schedule again. I also have been giving her a 1/2 capsule of Salmon oil twice a day. I have also decided to slowly transition her to the Wellness canned as it is grain free. The Miralax has worked mch better for her than the Lactulose. So, I hope people will feel better knowing that they can give Miralax a try if the lactulose doesn't work.

My cat was diagnosed with the same problem, called mega colon. He was switched from dry to can or wet and he is on two meds. One is lactulose, which he hates but it is better than the alternative and the other med is a compound, quite pricey, called sisapride. They both do the trick. When the doc told me his colon could burst that convinced me to stay with the meds and stay away from food high in fiber. Too much fiber bulked him up. Good luck and I hope you figure out what is best for your cat.

One is lactulose, which he hates but it is better than the alternative and the other med is a compound, quite pricey, called sisapride.

I have heard many cats do not like the lactulose. I was lucky that Lexus loved it when I was giving it to her. An alternative to lactulose is Miralax...it is a tasteless, odourless powder that you can add to their food? Much easier to get the cat take on a daily basis. Also, I have heard you can get it over the counter? You may want to ask your vet about this option. Also, I have heard of people getting the cisapride for half of what they were paying at the vet. Does anybody know where she can get the cisapride for cheaper to help with her wallet?

And luckily at this point my vet does not think she has mega colon....only time will tell I guess!!

My cat was diagnosed with the same problem, called mega colon. He was switched from dry to can or wet and he is on two meds. One is lactulose, which he hates but it is better than the alternative and the other med is a compound, quite pricey, called sisapride. They both do the trick. When the doc told me his colon could burst that convinced me to stay with the meds and stay away from food high in fiber. Too much fiber bulked him up. Good luck and I hope you figure out what is best for your cat.

I had no luck with the lactulose....Miralax did the trick!! Tyler is also on Cisapride....very pricey through the vet....I see you are in the states also, I found a pharmacy in Washington DC that sells it for MUCH less....they can compound it into alot of different forms. Tyler gets 10mg capsules, he takes them with cream cheese!! If you'd like to check out this pharmacy PM me or e-mail at loriacatlady@optonline.net and I'll give you the info....believe me I know how expensive it can get & finally after a year, because of this forum I was pointed in some new directions This place is wonderful!!

I have heard many cats do not like the lactulose. I was lucky that Lexus loved it when I was giving it to her. An alternative to lactulose is Miralax...it is a tasteless, odourless powder that you can add to their food? Much easier to get the cat take on a daily basis. Also, I have heard you can get it over the counter? You may want to ask your vet about this option. Also, I have heard of people getting the cisapride for half of what they were paying at the vet. Does anybody know where she can get the cisapride for cheaper to help with her wallet?

And luckily at this point my vet does not think she has mega colon....only time will tell I guess!!

The Miralax is available over the counter, & I sprinkle it over Tyler's wet food....it definitely is tasteless because he eats the food right up & he is Mr Finicky cat

I'm suprised that your cat is still on Cisapride. Does your Vet realize that they discontinued it? I would check to see if your vet can give you a prescription of Lactulose/Enulose. Lactulose/Enulose is very surgary, so some cats don't like it. Make sure that if your cat spits any of it out, to wipe it off their fur very quickly with a warm rag. Otherwise, the hair that the stuff gets on will get stiff and break off. Cats should be on a predominately all wet food diet that has no grains in it. Dry food is mostly made up of sugar and carbs, so not only do they put on a ton of weight, they also ruin their teeth. Dry food also causes diabetes. IF you are going to continue to keep your cats on a dry food diet, choose one that is made up of mostly protein like Wellness Core no grains. It is 50% protein. If you have a houseful of cats, and can't afford the extra buck, you can try the Purina Naturals that is 38% protein. However, a no grain canned food is best. Another thing, any cat with megacolon should be on a strictly canned food no grain diet (wellness no grains turkey formula is best, turkey has the most moisture in any foods), you should always add water (filterd water) to their canned food. Cats love this because it makes it soupy/gravy like and it helps bring more moisture in their bodies. Cats mouths aren't designed to bring in all the water they need. Also, you can add a teaspoon of 100% natural olive oil to the soupy canned food concoction. It will allow the feces to pass through. Lastly, there is one more thing, there is a pill that your vet can prescribe for megacolon if all else fails. However, the above should work if you stick to it and are diligent. And all should be done together, unlike one person suggested above, you should be doing the Lactulose/Enulose, no grain canned water/olive diet, and you should also give him milk twice a week. Most cats system cannot digest milk, however cats with megacolon actually benefit from it.

I have 2 cats with megacolon and also work at a shelter. Hope this helps.

One last tip, never ever ever give a boy cat any type of food that is seafood!!!!! This causes crystals in their urine which can cause the cat to get blocked up (his uretha) and this can kill him. You should always feel your cats Chicken, Turkey, and Beef. Turkey being the best because it has the most moisture content in it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by loriacatlady

This is my 1st post here. My name is Lori I have an 11 yr old male cat that was diagnosed with megacolon around a year ago. Lately it's been getting harder to treat, he is on Cisipride 3x a day which does not seem to be as a effective as it used to be.....he can go days without pooping. Right before Thanksgiving he had to be knocked out and manually cleaned out by the vet.....this past week he was there 2x & had 2 enemas (Mon & Thurs). The vet says he should go no longer than 1-2 days without a bowel movement....not only is it stressfull on my cat & myself to do this to him but my pocketbook can not keep up with this anymore. Medication costs about $100 a month & enemas even MORE. I see there are alot of you that have gone through this here & am looking for any help or advice I can get, I am at the end of my ropes here, I just don't know what to do anymore, surgery has been suggested but it is very costly, there is no guarantee that it will cure him & I don't think I want to put him through such major surgery, leaving only one other option, putting him to sleep....just the thought sends me into tears....I would appreciate any feedback

I'm suprised that your cat is still on Cisapride. Does your Vet realize that they discontinued it?

I brought this concern up with both my regular vet and my holistic vet because they were both talking about putting Lexus on cisapride. But they both said it was taken off the shelf for humans not for pets. At this point I do not have to put her on cisapride but in the future I feel good to know that cisapride helps alot! There were no adverse effects on Pets (thank goodness). It sounds like cisapride has been a life saver for many people with cats that have megacolon.

Although availability is now restricted (see below), cisapride was especially useful in animals that experienced neurologic side effects from metoclopramide. It was also useful in managing gastric stasis, idiopathic constipation, gastroesophageal reflux, and postoperative ileus in dogs and cats. Cisapride was especially useful in managing chronic constipation in cats with megacolon; in many cases, it alleviated or delayed the need for subtotal colectomy. ......

Initially, the only adverse effects reported in humans were increased defecation, headache, abdominal pain, and cramping and flatulence; cisapride appeared to be well tolerated in animals. As cisapride became widely used in the management of gastroesophageal reflux in humans, cases of heart rhythm disorders and deaths were reported to the FDA. These cardiac problems in humans were highly associated with concurrent drug therapy or specific underlying conditions. In veterinary medicine, adverse reactions to clinical use of cisapride have not been reported. But because of the cardiovascular side effects in humans, the manufacturer of cisapride voluntarily placed it under a limited-access program. Cisapride for animals can still be obtained through compounding veterinary pharmacies.

Just fyi most pharmacies offer compounding (mixing medicine into a paste) and many will have a triple fish flavor that cats love.. I had a terminally ill feline who wasnt able to eat much and they mixed a vitamin powder i brought in... kept her with us a bit longer.. and no stress!